One of three undercover officers accused by protesters of trying to incite violence at demonstrations surrounding the North American leaders summit in Montebello, Que., last summer was caught on video striking a riot squad officer, says the B.C. man who filmed the scene.

Protesters said three masked men in the video were undercover police officers and that the fact that they were carrying a rock, pushed through other protesters and police, and were apparently arrested shows they were trying to start a riot.
(YouTube)

"I was reviewing some of the footage on a high-definition monitor and I caught a glimpse of this shot where somebody walks by my camera and then I see a gloved hand reaching up and slapping the face of one of the riot squad members," said Paul Manly of Nanaimo, who posted a low-resolution version of the video on YouTube in August.

"And right after, you see that the person who's wearing those gloves is the same officer that has the rock. You can see the riot squad member recoiling from the blow."

Manly said he went over the footage while working on a documentary.

As of Tuesday evening, officials had not responded to the revelation.

Thousands of people have viewed the video since it was posted on YouTube after protests surrounding the Aug. 20 and 21 meetings of U.S. President George W. Bush, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The three were at the resort town in western Quebec discussing their 2005 Security and Prosperity Partnership agreement, which deals with issues such as trade and border control.

Protesters said three masked men in the video were undercover police officers and that the fact that they were carrying a rock, pushed through other protesters and police, and were apparently arrested shows they were trying to start a riot.

Police initially denied that. A few days later, the Sûreté du Quebec admitted the men were their officers, but denied they were trying to provoke the crowd or incite violence.

The incident flagged by Manly can be seen in the background about 1:49 seconds into the 5:23 minute version of the video called Stop SPP Protest — Union Leader stops provocateurs, but Manly has posted a higher resolution version online.